In photography and videography, a camera filter is an accessory that is placed over the camera lens along the optical path between the camera lens and the scene captured. Typically, the camera filter is formed of a material that modifies the properties of light passing through it. However, some camera filters are intended to substantially maintain the properties of the light and may be used to protect the lens. Types of camera filters include neutral density filters, polarizing filters, color filters, etc. Since different camera lens are provided in different sizes, camera filters are also provided in different sizes to match the camera lens sizes.
Typically, the camera filter is directly mounted to the camera lens, such as by screwing the camera filter to cooperating threads at the front of the camera lens. When operating a camera, a user (photographer or cameraman) may choose to use different camera lens and different camera filters to differently capture a scene. This requires the user to repeatedly swap lens and to swap the filters according to the intended use.